Large corporations typically maintain telecommunication calling centers that contain a large number of customer service representatives. Each customer service representative is seated at telephone workstation that usually includes a telephone and a computer system for accessing customer information. The customer service representatives respond to calls from customers regarding new orders, product support, and other customer questions.
Internet email has evolved into a new standard communication medium in the late 20th century. More and more customers are now using email messages to communicate questions, complaints, and requests to the corporations that the customers purchase products and services from. Therefore, the volume of incoming email from customers has increased dramatically at many corporations. In order to handle the large volume of incoming email messages, it would be desirable to have a set of software tools that simplify the task of responding to large volumes of email from customers.